Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

Reflections on the Battle of Guni Pass

The desolate Guangxi region, with its crescent moon, is a picture of desolation.
The Xunjiang River, stretching for a thousand miles, reflects the red waters.

It is advisable to send light cavalry to pursue the fleeing enemy.
A man's ambition lies in uniting the nine provinces.

The Battle of Guni Pass was a decisive battle that determined the fate of both the Wei and Zhou states. Sultan was fortunate and won. Looking at the corpses strewn across the mountains, even this seasoned warlord, accustomed to grand scenes, couldn't help but feel moved and composed this poem to commemorate the event. His primary concern wasn't the number of enemies killed or captured, but rather the fate of his old adversary, Wu Sangui. After finishing the poem, he immediately asked his subordinates, "Is there any news of that traitor Wu?"

“Father, Guangxi and Guizhou are mostly mountainous areas. After Wu’s army was defeated, they fled into the mountains. Although our army searched the mountains, we only beheaded 60,000 and captured 70,000. We did not find any trace of Wu Sangui. I believe that Wu Sangui must have fled to Guizhou,” King Meras of Qi reported.

“Yes, as long as Wu Sangui is not dead, the pseudo-Zhou dynasty is not over. Select elite troops and pursue him lightly armed,” Suletan said, looking at his second son. “Go to each camp and select 50,000 elite soldiers, each with two horses. Tomorrow morning, set out from the camp to pursue Wu Sangui. Remember, I don’t care about anyone else; I only want Wu Sangui’s head!”

"Your son obeys!" Melas was overjoyed. If he could cut off the head of the false Zhou emperor, his military achievements would far surpass those of the other kings.

“Father, I want to go too,” said the outspoken King Zhao, Biligendalai, eager to try.

Sultan smiled and said, "You can leave the matter of pursuing Wu Sangui to me. Take 40,000 elite troops to Hezhou and wipe out all the remnants of the pseudo-Zhou regime there."

"Father, rest assured, I will not fail you!" Biligendalai accepted the order and left.

Sultan then looked at the Minister of War, Halahuli, and instructed him: "A few days ago, Fu Shan submitted another memorial to me, complaining about the insufficient population in Sichuan. You shall send a detachment of troops to exile all the prisoners of Wu's army to Sichuan for farming. They must be well guarded and not let any of them escape."

"Your servant obeys," Harahuli hurriedly replied.

“The soldiers have fought hard. Let them rest for one night, and we will march to Guizhou tomorrow,” Suletan waved his hand, intending to go to Guizhou. “Guizhou is all mountains. If the army goes directly into Guizhou, it will not only be slow, but the Wu army will inevitably flee to Yunnan upon hearing the news. Once the Wu army in Yunnan and Guizhou merges, the war in Yunnan will inevitably be delayed. Our army has been on campaign for two years, and most of the country’s elite troops are in the south. If something happens in the north, how will we defend it? Moreover, the soldiers are eager to go home. We should quell the false Zhou as soon as possible and return to the capital. Therefore, sending a large army directly into Guizhou is not the best policy,” Hu Lianqi, the Minister of Revenue, raised a different opinion.

Sultan frowned. "I am aware of Guizhou's reputation for being 'unlucky, with no three days of sunshine and no three feet of flat land,' but Wu Sangui's defeated army has already fled into Guizhou. How can we not send troops to pursue them?"

"Sichuan, Huguang, and Guangxi are now under our control. Guizhou and Yunnan are only connected by the narrow passage of Puan Prefecture. I think it's a good thing that the defeated troops have fled into Guizhou, so we can annihilate the Wu army there as well," Hu Lianqi said with a smile.

After listening, Sultan looked at the map hanging in the tent and suddenly asked, "Do you want me to start from Liuzhou, pass through Qingyuan, Sicheng, Anlong and other places in Guangxi, seize Puan Prefecture, cut off the connection between Guizhou and Yunnan, and surround and annihilate the remaining main force of Wu's army in Guizhou?"

“Indeed. The roads in Guangxi are easier to traverse than those in Guizhou. Advancing through Guangxi is faster and more convenient, and we should be able to capture Puan Prefecture before the Wu army escapes Guizhou, cutting off their retreat. If we can annihilate the remaining main force of the Wu army in Guizhou, it will greatly shorten the time to wipe out the puppet Zhou, and our soldiers can return to the capital sooner. Please annihilate the remaining enemy in Guizhou!” After saying this, Hu Lianqi silently awaited the Great Khan's decision.

“Well, it’s a good plan, but there are many local officials in Qingyuan, Sicheng, Anlong and other places, especially Sicheng Prefecture and Anlong Division, which are the territories of the Cen family of Sicheng. ‘Sibo, Tian, ​​Yang, Liangguang, Cen, Huang’ are quite famous. Although Cen Jilu has nominally submitted to our dynasty, he has always been fickle. What if he refuses when our army passes through his territory?” Suletan suddenly asked with a half-smile.

"Your Majesty is mistaken! Under heaven, all land belongs to the king; on the shores of the earth, all people are his subjects. You are leading your army through your own territory; why do you need the permission of a mere tribal chief? If the Cen clan of Sicheng agrees, so be it; if not, simply wipe them out!" Grand Secretary Liu Haogu said passionately upon hearing this. With successive victories, the unification of the Great Wei Kingdom was already a certainty. Even a mere civil official had become "warlike," let alone Grand Secretary Liu, who always upheld the authority of the court and could not tolerate local separatist forces. How could he not be furious to hear that His Majesty needed the tribal chief's consent to pass through the territory of Great Wei?
Seeing Master Liu's beard bristling with anger, Sultan couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. Before he could reply, the veteran general of the Imperial Guard, Xirimo, the First-Class Duke of Turpan, suddenly stepped forward and pleaded, "Years ago, the Great Khan ordered me to send troops south. The chieftains of Sicheng, such as the Cen clan, seeing my power, fawned upon me and flattered me in every way. Later, when our army suffered a setback at Bulong City, these people, in order to curry favor with the Manchus, raised troops again to try to cut off my retreat. Although they were defeated by our army, they are truly infuriating! These chieftains are utterly untrustworthy and will surely become a scourge in the future. I am willing to lead an army to wipe them out and eliminate future troubles for the Great Khan!" The Wolf of the Oirat, who had once served as the General Who Conquers the South, had deeply experienced the fickleness of the southwestern chieftains and had suffered at their hands. He wanted to send troops to retaliate.

Suletan was even more delighted upon hearing this and ordered someone to bring him a letter of surrender. "Take a look," he said, "this is a letter of surrender from the local chieftains of Guangxi. A few days ago, Cen Jilu, the chieftain of Sicheng, along with Cen Jixiang, the chieftain of Zhen'an, Cen Maoren, the chieftain of Tianzhou, Cen Jigang, the chieftain of Guishun, Cen Guangyu, the chieftain of Anlong, and Cen Zhaoxian, the chieftain of Shanglin; Huang Daiqian, the chieftain of Siming, along with Huang Tingjie, the chieftain of Jiangzhou, Huang Guangsheng, the chieftain of Zhongzhou, and Huang Jiazheng, the chieftain of Fengyi; and the Wei clan of Yongding, the Wei clan of Donglan, the Mo clan of Nandan, the Mo clan of Xincheng, and the Zhao clan of Longzhou, submitted a letter of surrender to me, expressing their willingness to be loyal to the Kingdom of David for generations to come. At that time, in order to prevent them from supporting Wu Sangui, I had already agreed to allow them to retain their original official positions and remain stationed in their localities. In other words, they are already subjects of David. I cannot attack my own subjects without a reason, can I?"

"The chieftains are fickle and have no loyalty. Moreover, they control their own territories, and their people only know the chieftains and not the court. They are like a malignant tumor. The Great Khan cannot tolerate them and should get rid of them as soon as possible!" Xirimo stubbornly maintained his original opinion.

"In recent years, the Cen clan of Sicheng and the Huang clan of Siming have taken advantage of the war between Wei Qing and Wei Zhou to continuously expand their territory and power. They have already occupied many mountain strongholds in half of Guangxi and southern Guizhou. I have heard that Cen Jilu's procession is extremely grand, and the people have to kneel and worship him. He is truly a local tyrant. Moreover, in addition to expanding his army, he has also built roads, bridges and schools in various parts of Sicheng, pretending to be benevolent and righteous in order to win the hearts of the people. His ambition is not small. I beg Your Majesty to eliminate them as soon as possible to prevent future troubles!" Liu Haogu also said.

Sultan smiled upon hearing this. "I will not attack loyal subjects without reason. Let's go to Si and see how they behave." (End of Chapter)